Imscared

''Imscared'' (stylized as ''IMSCARED'') is an indie meta horror game created by Ivan Zanotti's MyMadnessWorks. To complete the game, the player finds themself having to outwit "White Face" and "HER," beings with the ability to manipulate the player's computer, like creating files or even crashing the game.

It is one of the earliest examples of a meta horror game, paving the way for games like ''OneShot'' and ''Doki Doki Literature Club!''.

On October 12, 2022, the game received a remake for its 10th anniversary, including new content and quality of life features such as higher resolution and framerate.

On October 17, 2024, the game was ported to Android. This port was based on the 10th anniversary remake, with changes to the out-of-game mechanics to take advantage of the medium and to comply with Google Play's guidelines.

Gameplay

Imscared is a first-person game. The player must recognize various tricks such as false crashes and manipulate files that the game leaves on the player's desktop under the guise of its antagonist to progress.

Plot

Details of the plot are left vague intentionally throughout the entire game. The game begins in a room with a hidden entrance in the corner; it leads to a basement containing a hallway of doors. Through one of the unlocked doors lies a chair and two bookshelves; the right bookshelf hides a key underneath. Upon getting this key, the player can use it on another door through which they will find a hallway with flesh-like walls and a ''heart'' at the end. Upon collecting the heart and going back to the room the player starts in, as directed by text on the screen with no apparent speaker, White Face (literally a floating white face) reveals itself and chases the player until they escape.

Later in the game, HER attempts to hinder the player's progress, similarly to White Face. HER has a face like White Face's but more feminine and a featureless white body that floats above the ground. It is revealed at the end of HER's section that she is a variation of White Face.

At the end of the game, the player reappears in a dark version of the first room, with White Face shifting between forms and threatening the player. A file called "heart.txt" is then created in the ''imscared'' folder on the player's desktop - deleting it is required to defeat White Face and complete the game. After this, the entirety of the game world is then accessible.

Post-endgame, the player can encounter the Restorer, a jolly-looking young woman in a pantsuit, who introduces them to future plans for the game.

Reception

The game has received positive reviews from critics, praising its retro-style graphics and sound design, as well as its elements which appear as if outside the game, while criticizing the confusing plot.

The game's 2012 and 2016 releases became a viral hit on various media platforms - especially YouTube - in large part due to the way the game messes with the player's computer. It is one of the first games to ever do this and set a precedent for other computer-altering games that succeed it. Rock Paper Shotgun praised the retro-style-like graphics and its scares. In 2012, PC Gamer praised the 2012 release for the psychological horror and its "devious" out-of-game elements. In 2014, Polygon praised the 2012 release for its puzzles, and that it's terrifying throughout. In 2022, IGN rated the game's 2016 release one of the twelve best horror games for PC.

References

External links

*
*
*{{cite news , last1=Sykes , first1=Tom , title=Meta horror Imscared is now a full game , url=https://www.pcgamer.com/meta-horror-imscared-is-now-a-full-game/ , access-date=7 May 2022 , work=PC Gamer , date=30 January 2016 , language=en

2010s horror video games
2012 video games
2016 video games
First-person video games
GameMaker games
Indie games
Metafictional video games
Retro-style video games
Video games developed in Italy
Windows games